“How to Become an Extraordinary Manager”

By Dr. Librado Enrique Gonzalez

We need less managers but we need better ones. To become an extraordinary manager, you must follow 11 proven and organized step to take you to the top and keep you there in any place and in any organization. Common sense in business; profession; judgment, planning; organization; prioritization; skilling; delegating; supervising; measuring; reporting and innovation. These steps will take you from a team organization design to learning organization and a 21st century High Class Business.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Aug 18, 2011
• ISBN: 9781463453015

Dr. Librado Enrique Gonzalez

Dr. Librado E. Gonzalez, is a Global Human Resources and Operations Professional with track record of hands-on human resources operations, experienced in a multi-unit and multi-national environment. With over 23 years of experience in the field. His educational background comes from a MBA at University of Barcelona, Doctorate of Law at British American University, and a Ph.D. in Management from La Salle University, alone with Mediation Certifications from Duke University and Washington University. He is a Certified Executive Coach, a Master Six Sigma Black Belt Certified and Lean Certified Trainer. He is a Certified Project Management Expert by University of Louisville. He has held executive positions within private and government organizations. He has been a Business and Law Professor for Towson University, State University of New York, Empire State College, Laurel University, Northern California University, Universidad Latina and Catawba Valley Community College. He has been a guess speaker for private and government agencies in the U.S., Latin America, Europe and Asia. He is the author of “How to Understand Communication” 2005; “The Issues Management Book” 2008 and now “How to Become an Extraordinary Manager” 2011. “Human Resources Development in Panama” Florida International University 2014. Latin America research project on "attributes for teaching effectiveness" in collaboration with Tampa University 2013.

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Contents

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER I

CHAPTER II

CHAPTER III

CHAPTER IV

CHAPTER V

CHAPTER VI

CHAPTER VII

CHAPTER VIII

CHAPTER IX

CHAPTER X

CHAPTER XI

CHAPTER XII

CHAPTER XIII

CHAPTER XIV

CONCLUSION

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This book would not have been possible without the support and encouragement given to me by my family. To my wife, Lesley Paola, and my two daughters, Lesley Mireya and Meredith Daniela, I express my appreciation. Also, to my mother, Mireya Rosa Gonzalez, for her unconditional love all these years.

INTRODUCTION

Every organization needs great managers, and the individual that is able to delegate skills and responsibilities with ease, have the correct attitude and the ability to motive their employees, will be highly valued.

How do you become a great manager? How do you become a great leader? Are they even the same? To start off, let me clarify the differences that separate a manager from a leader. A leader provides vision and the motivational force to drive a project while a manager skillfully manages resources and juggles tasks essential for the success of the project. Leaders are proactive while managers are reactive. Leaders promote new directions while managers enable existing directions. In the future most companies will be looking for entrepreneurs to lead their organizations because they have graduated from Leadership School and they are ready to be the innovate force to create new markets while push forward to growing the company.

Having said that, both manager and leaders are actually quite similar, both in the terms of qualities exhibited as well as capabilities. They are not mutually exclusive to each other. A good manager can become a good leader, while a good leader must often perform managerial roles. Sometimes a good manager must even be both. The ultimate goal of a Leader is to become an Entrepreneur within the organization creating a culture of innovation and promoting the initiative to keep the business moving in the right direction.

So what does it require, in order to become an Extraordinary Manager? Common Sense in business (attitude and approach to issues-process); Judgment (decision making and believes); Planning (strategic and tactical); Organization (people and activities); Prioritization (important and urgent); Staffing (people and projects); Delegating (skills and responsibilities); Supervising (objectives and processes); Measuring (results and progress); Reporting (facts and alternatives); and Innovation (vision and conviction).

In business as well as in life, attitude is everything. An Extraordinary Manager must consider all those elements to become a 100% business professional alone with a positive attitude in the things that he/she does and this rubs off on the employees over a period of time. Also, an Extraordinary Manager serves as a role model for his or her employees and this starts from having a great attitude.

Ultimately, an Extraordinary manager is somebody who can make the sum of team greater than a collection of individuals. Finally, an Extraordinary Manager allows the team to flourish and creates value to each individual as well as to the company.

Follow the steps and you will be at top before you ever know it.

CHAPTER I

Globalization

Globalization describes the process of regional economies, societies and cultures that have become a part of a global network of businesses. Globalization can be as simple as a business ordering some of its material from another country or as complex as housing corporate headquarters in one country, maintaining factories in another, and receiving parts or materials from yet another. The possibility of globalization has increased with the availability and global reach of the internet. Technological advances have played a key role in the increase of globalization, these days even a very small business with just one or two employees can be globalized. Globalization does not only pertain to business but government as well. Politics plays a key role in the globalized business.

The term globalization did not become popular until the 20th century. Then onwards, it has become a typical issue understood to affect the whole socio-economic and political life of states throughout the world. Besides, the discourse on globalization is complex with far reaching effects on national and international laws and policies pertaining to the social, economic and political matters

The increase of globalized business trade has created a global economy. This can have a positive impact on some countries and a negative impact on others. Countries with poor living conditions and poor wages experience an increase in wages and standard of living during the globalization process while the opposite is true for the countries that experience a high standard of living and high wages. Countries on both extremities of the living standard range see the most dramatic economic changes.

There are several reasons for the increase in globalization over the years. The main reason is that labor and business operational costs are drastically cheaper in some countries. Countries with a lower standard of living typically have not addressed the need to protect the environment. For example, China has no regulations on the amounts of sulfur dioxide that is put into the air by manufacturing companies. People who live in China have a shorter life span so for obvious reasons are not as concerned with the long term ecological impact of their actions. China has been one of the countries that have experienced a dramatic increase in their standard of living. The increase in their standard of living is also increasing their life expectancies in recent years.

Globalization has many pros, here are some:

*   Increases in economic productivity.

*   Reduces prices for consumers.

*   Gives developing countries access to foreign investment funds to support economic development.

*   Transfers technology.

*   Spreads democracy and freedom to countries while reducing military conflict.

But also, globalization has its cons, here are some:

*   Causes job insecurity.

*   Weakens environmental and labor standards.

*   Prevents individual nations from adopting policies promoting environmental or social objectives, if these discriminate against products from another country.

*   Wears down regional and national cultures and weakens cultural, linguistic, and religious diversity.

*   Is compatible with dictatorship.

In order to properly be able to communicate within the world of globalization, individuals must understand the how labor forces influence international business. International business can be defined as business deals across national boundaries throughout the world. These deals are created and carried out to meet different client’s needs and everything from labor quality to mobility effect, how well the client’s needs are met. While the task of managing international business can be intimidating, with a little bit of research and understanding it can be very successful. Business managers must learn to manage polices, information technology systems, and be respectful of their host country’s rules and regulations. International business managers must be able to look at the needed work force and determine the availability with their host country as well as the cost and level of skill needed.

Trading is the most common business within globalization, and is the one with the most amount of policies and regulations. A business manager with trading enterprises has to be aware of lots of policies and regulations, such as export controls and import controls. These controls are conformed of regulations such as quotas and tariffs. Quotas limit on the amount of goods that can be imported, and tariffs are taxes on imports. Another kind of regulation a manager has to be aware of is the antidumping duties. This regulation controls the sales of imported goods that are being sold at less than fair value. The most recent factor nowadays affecting in globalization, are international torts, this is another factor that managers should be aware of. All these policies and regulations are just a small part of what a manager should take in consideration when doing business in other countries, every manager should know what those policies mean and how it affects their own business, and if these policies are not respected the consequence is punishable by law.

Another important factor in international business, especially when you have industrial factories or companies in other countries, are the environmental and health regulations. As previously stated, some countries like China, don´t have these kinds of regulations, but most countries do. A manager with industrial enterprises has to be very aware of what kind of regulations does the foreign or home country has, some regulations have to do with protecting the environment, pollution of air and water, toxic substances control, endangered species, conservation, and many more. All these policies and regulations if not respected are punishable by law.

The labor market is the relationship that workers and companies have. It constantly changes based on the supply and demand of labor. When determining what labor is needed, business’s want to find skilled workers at a low, manageable cost while skilled workers want to get the highest pay for their skills. Different factors that will determine how much a laborer should be paid are how much experience and education they have as well as their work ethics and quality of work. Outside influences can affect the price of labor as well. For example, if there is a high unemployment rate in the host country skilled workers can be obtained at a lower cost. Other factors are labor unions, high demand for workers, and the laws of the host country regarding wages.

Labor unions are another important factor when talking about a business. These unions are represented by the workers themselves and fight for the fair treatment of the workers in the companies, including wages, benefits, and working conditions. This is a delicate factor in international business because of the fact that all countries have very different laws and regulations in the matter. A manager has to respect the laws regarding employment at all times. If they have a company on another country they have to pay the wages based on the law of that country, and they also have to respect the demands of the unions in that country. As previously stated, if these policies and regulations are not respected or followed it is punishable by law.

Labor mobility is another important aspect. Labor mobility means changes to the location and conditions of workers across a set of jobs and physical space. Labor mobility will allow labor unions to improve the conditions of the employment including the wages, benefits, and work conditions. Labor unions will continuously fight to ensure workers are being treated fairly and have improved conditions. As a result from these changes the economic conditions will improve in the region. Minorities are important to utilize within the labor force as well. Discrimination of race, age, gender, etc. will not be tolerated and there are organizations to help prevent such within the workplace.

In conclusion, though there are the divided ideas as to how all states benefit from globalization, nowadays, most agree that issues in relations to human rights, environmental matters, etc, are the common concerns of international communities which have to be respected and promoted by the joint efforts in every corner of the world.

Moreover, since international business transactions are directly or indirectly related to these common concerns, it is believed to be a common concern as well. Therefore, laws of international business transactions have to be in a position to respect and promote principles and guide lines provided to regulate other global concerns. From this, it is easy to understand, how much the laws of international business directly or indirectly are under the influence of globalization and managers should be prepared for any future change that may come.

CHAPTER II

Legal Aspects for Managers due

to Globalization

1.   Purpose. The purpose of this chapter is to present the challenges that manager have in globalization. We first define globalization followed by legal, financial, cultural, and human resources aspects that managers should consider within the global environment.

2.   Definition of globalization. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff defines economic globalization as the increasing integration of economies around the world, particularly through the movement of goods, services, and capital across borders. The term sometimes also refers to the movement of people (labor) and knowledge (technology) across international borders. There are also broader cultural, political, and environmental dimensions of globalization. The IMF staff considers that the growth in global markets has helped to promote efficiency through competition and the division of labor and offer greater opportunity for people to tap into more diversified and larger markets around the world giving them access to more capital, technology, cheaper imports, and larger export markets. They emphasize that a core element of globalization is the expansion of world trade through the elimination or reduction of trade barriers, such as import tariffs. Greater imports offer consumers a wider variety of goods at lower prices, while providing strong incentives for domestic industries to remain competitive.

3.   Legal considerations—The legal ramifications of the global markets are numerous. International organisms, international laws as well as local laws can be overwhelming. A practical initial approach would be to obtain a good international legal counsel, a top local legal firm and a local advisor or partner in each country that the manager intends to do business in.

a.   Global administrative law—Global Administrative Law (GAL) is an emerging field that contemplates regulation by administrative law-type principles such as transparency, accountability and review usually termed as global governance. The scope has increased dramatically and presently there are over 2,000 intergovernmental organizations (IGO) and around 40,000 non-governmental organizations (NGO) throughout the world. To settle disputes, some regulatory entities have established judicial (or quasi-judicial) bodies, or other kinds of settlements such as negotiations. With the creation of these types of international organizations, the scope of traditional treaties among nations. Managers should be aware of world organizations, country and regional trade agreements, such as World Trade Organizations (WTO), International treaties between nations, such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Southern Common Market (Spanish Mercado Común del Sur—MERCOSUR), European Union, Asean Free Trade Area (AFTA), the Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) country group, among others.

b.   Legal systems of the World—There are different approaches to law in the world.

i.   Common law, based on a legal tradition of precedent. The court cases become a precedent for future decisions on the same issue. This system is in effect in the United States of America and England.

ii.   Code law, where the specific laws are matched with situations. This system is not flexible to new situations where the rule of law has not been issued. It is practiced commonly in Europe.

iii.   Islamic law, where the law is based on the teachings of the Koran. This system is practiced in Islamic countries.

4.   Socialist law, which is based on the premise that the government is always right. This system is practiced in former communist countries.

5.   Financial Considerations—The globalization of the financial world is a tangible reality. There is presently an interdependency of the world’s financial markets. The collapse of the subprime mortgage market in the United States had a worldwide effect on world markets leading to a global financial crisis. This is globalization at work.

a.   Worldwide Stock exchanges—The globalization of finance has enabled businesses to incorporate and raise capital on worldwide stock exchanges. The IMF staff reported that, The world’s financial markets have experienced a dramatic increase in globalization in recent years. Global capital flows fluctuated between 2 and 6 percent of world GDP during the period 1980-95, but since then they have risen to 14.8 percent of GDP, and in 2006 they totaled $7.2 trillion, more than tripling since 1995. The most rapid increase has been experienced by advanced economies, but emerging markets and developing countries have also become more financially integrated. As countries have strengthened their capital markets they have attracted more investment capital, which can enable a broader entrepreneurial class to develop, facilitate a more efficient allocation of capital, encourage international risk sharing, and foster economic growth.

b.   Monetary foreign exchanges—The increase of trade among nations due to globalization has impacted the value of the monetary foreign exchanges. The trade deficit of a country, i.e. when it imports more than it exports, reduces the value of its currency because there is less demand for it. On the other hand, when there is a trade surplus, i.e. when it exports more than it imports, the value of the currency increases because there is more demand for it. This reduced exchange rate makes exports more attractive in other countries, and imports less attractive. This is the global currency battle where countries want to maintain their currency rate low in order to increase their exports.

c.   International accounting standards—There is a disparity in generally accepted accounting standards in the world. Each country would like to adopt its own standards. In an attempt to uniform these standards for a globalized environment, the International Accounting Standards Board has issued international accounting standards. Many countries have adopted these international accounting standards. The United States still have their own generally accepted accounting standards. Financial statements presented in different stock exchanges have to conform with the accounting standards that the specific country accepts.

d.   Tax considerations—Taxes is a very complicated subject matter. Specific country corporation, import duties and payroll taxes, among others should be kept in mind when doing business in a global environment. As stated previously, local expertise is imperative.

6.   Cultural considerations—Globalization has imposed a learning challenge for managers. They have to understand and immerse themselves in the culture of the country and to recognize the differences to be effective in a globalized cross cultural environment. On the other hand, cultural assimilations have been a direct result of globalization. Examples of these would be the presence of a McDonalds in front of the Louvre in Paris, and the proliferation of Starbucks in China, a tea drinking nation.

a.   Language differences. There is a difference between the spoken and written language in business. For the spoken language, the first language is Mandarin with 845 million speakers, followed by Spanish with 329 million speakers and then English with 328 million speakers. However, English predominates on the Internet, and 35% of all the mail, telexes and cables are in English.

There are also regional differences in language, for example even though Spanish is spoken throughout Latin America, the meaning of a specific Spanish word differs from one country to another.

Anglo Saxon countries have a more direct approach to language, whereas latin and romance languages have a more indirect and flower type approach.

These differences would have a material impact if you were in a business meeting and were not aware of them.

b.   Cultural differences—Gert Hofstede, a Dutch researcher, interviewed IBM executives in various countries, and found four key cultural differences:

i.   Individualism vs. collectivism: The extent of individual responsibility vs group responsibility and reward. Indonesia and West Africa rank toward the collectivistic side.